The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems, and more particularly a scroll wheel component built into a portable laptop computer.
Portable laptop computers do not have a scrolling device with a middle mouse button functionality. Middle mouse button functionality is useful for applications such as computer aided design (CAD) as well as other applications such as pan, zoom and horizontal scroll functions.
Currently, arrow scroll buttons, located below the track pad, are used to provide the applications mentioned above. However, arrow scroll buttons do not have middle mouse button functionality and therefore only provide arrow scrolling in the vertical direction.
A currently available mouse with a wheel and wheel button provides a scroll function by rolling the wheel forward to scroll up in a document, or rolling the wheel backward to scroll down in a document. Another function is an autoscroll function which permits the user to click or depress the wheel button to read a document while the document scrolls automatically. A user can pan through a document by clicking and holding the wheel button down. A zoom function is also provided to zoom-in for a close-up view of a document, or to zoom-out for a full view of document at a reduced size. The zoom function is accomplished by holding down the CTRL key and moving the wheel forward for zoom-in and backward for zoom-out. These and other functions, not discussed, are available with a mouse wheel and wheel button.
Examples of mouse devices with multiple input functionality are described below. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,090, a combined mouse and track ball are contained within an ergonomically designed housing or shell. The shell is curved to fit comfortably within the palm of the hand of an operator so that the forefinger and thumb are opposed to each other in a prehensile position. A single shell is operable by a left-handed or right-handed operator by rotation of a switch to change the alignment of the sensor pickups engaging the roller ball of the combined mouse and track ball. At least one switch plate extends across an upper surface of the shell for depression by a forefinger of the operator. The switch plate is pivoted about a central fulcrum so as to have a cursor shifted to a position above an icon located on a computer screen for depression of the switch plate and initiation of a computer function indicated.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,518, a device comfortably supports the hand of the user while the thumb and fingers are associated with keys, a trackball, and a scrolling wheel carried on the device. The overall configuration of the device and the arrangement of these actuators permits the user to operate all of the functions provided by the actuators while the forearm is in a neutral posture zone between pronation and supination of the forearm, and the wrist and fingers are minimally extended and comfortably flexed, respectively.
Therefore, what is needed is an input device adjacent the keyboard for supplementing input functionality for a portable notebook computer.
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a multi-function input device adjacent the keyboard and palmrest areas of a portable notebook computer. To this end, a computer has a base including an exterior surface. A keyboard is mounted on the exterior surface. A palmrest area is provided on the exterior surface adjacent the keyboard. A scroll member is mounted in the exterior surface adjacent the palmrest area. The scroll member includes a first portion protruding from the exterior surface, and a second portion extending through the exterior surface. The scroll member is bi-directionally rotatable relative to the exterior surface and resiliently depressible into the base.
A principal advantage of this embodiment is that the scroll member is located on the palm rest area adjacent the keyboard so that the user can quickly and easily switch between keyboard and scroll member input functions.